Stoke Park Chefs: Put Your Menu Where Your Mouth Is

Britain's top chefs...

-Yee-ha!

-..are going up against each other...

-This is going to be a good battle.

-..to see who can make the most money

from creating fabulous food for the great British public.

It's all about making money.

Our award-winning chefs

will be putting their reputations on the line...

Help me!

..as they're each challenged to produce a delicious three-course meal...

-Yes!

-..for a room full of ravenous diners.

-We can't have customers waiting.

-We want beef!

-Perfect.

-Wow.

They'll be working in kitchens they've never set foot in before...

-This is impossible.

-..with a limited budget...

-Deal.

-You've got to go a bit lower than that.

..and up against the deadline of that day's service.

That took forever to cook.

But the big question is, who will make the most money...

-Rock on.

-..and win?

-We came, we saw, we conquered.

Today the superbly seasoned Ed Baines

takes on the full of flavour Stephanie Moon.

Both chefs are at the top of their game,

but this is the match that will test their culinary strengths

to the absolute limit.

-Are you ready, Ed?

-Yeah, yeah!

Coming up, Ed gives a classic dish his own unique sultry spin.

This is no ordinary duck sauce,

this is a duck sauce with Seville oranges.

Stephanie finds herself in deep trouble with the man in charge.

-I'm really sorry.

-I'll speak with the guests and we're going to speak after service.

-OK.

-But who will claim victory today?

-APPLAUSE

Ah, the great British countryside,

sun-kissed oasis of peace, tranquillity and bird song...

And it's all about to be shattered,

as two gastronomic giants go head to head

in one of the greatest food fights in TV history.

I want to hit the ground running with this.

I'm going to really come out fighting.

Our challengers couldn't be more different. On one side,

a chef who has worked his way around the world

and run some of London's most popular restaurants,

it's fearless food god, Ed Baines.

Fresh, clean, simple.

They're the three sort of pillars

that I design and create everything around.

I absolutely hate losing, I don't know how to deal with it.

And on the other side,

a Yorkshire lass who is renowned for the menus she's produced

at some of the UK's finest country hotels.

It's gourmet goddess, Stephanie Moon!

'The thing for me that I love about being a chef is the food.'

It's the ingredients,

it's the turning something very simple into something amazing.

I think as a chef you have to be on your game,

you have to be competitive.

Right now our battling chefs

know nothing about the challenge ahead of them,

but they're about to find out.

They'll be fighting it out at Humphrey's,

an award-winning fine dining restaurant at Stoke Park,

a luxury country club and hotel in Buckinghamshire.

This venue has a top notch reputation

and customers here are used to service

that is absolutely first class.

I love the venue, it's a very special place for a very special occasion.

The atmosphere here is really lovely, actually.

It's really warm and actually quite intimate.

So the challenge for our chefs is to rack their brains

and pull out all the stops to create menus which are truly outstanding.

And if that wasn't enough,

they'll also have to source and buy all their own ingredients.

They've each got a budget of £500

with which they'll have to find the very best deals

as the winner of this competition

will be the chef who makes the most money for their chosen charity.

Ed Baines and Stephanie Moon,

it's time to put your menu where your mouth is.

So, country house hotel, Ed. Are you feeling happy about that?

I've never worked professionally in a country house hotel. I know you have for years,

so I'm sure you're feeling a lot happier about it than I am.

I think it's right up your street,

from the background of a hotel, fine dining...

Well, we'll see. I'm not taking any chances with you.

I think you're going to be bang on the button there

and I think I need to watch my back.

The thing is, I always feel there's an element of conservative nature

within country house hotel menus and I'm not quite sure how to play this.

I know you've got a great repertoire.

I'm thinking, shall I go head to head,

or maybe play it a bit different, like, "ooh"?

I think it's a tough challenge. I think I'm not sitting pretty

and I've just got to get out there and see what happens, really.

-So good luck, Ed.

-Good luck.

-All the best.

-I'm worried. SHE LAUGHS

Well, what an almighty clash this looks set to be.

Stephanie's background in country house hotel kitchens

has got Ed quaking in his boots.

But Stephanie knows that will only make the lad fight even harder.

Does Stephanie have the edge?

Or will Ed cook his socks off and surpass himself?

Both chefs are plotting for victory.

So my strategy is to get the best deals I can,

get the best food I can on the plate,

cook my heart out and hopefully those diners are going to love it.

So Stephanie's going for great deals and top-notch cooking,

but what about her opponent Ed?

My strategy is very straightforward.

I'm cooking in a Victorian house and I've created a Victorian menu.

I'm not going to go, "Oh, I'm buying all cheap bits and bobs,"

and then charge a load for them.

No, this is a very, very up-market hotel. The clientele that go

there aren't shy of spending money, if it's value for money.

Ah, so Ed is playing it straight

and creating a menu tailor-made for a country house hotel!

With their battle plans in place, our chefs talk starters.

My starter today is going to be a fantastic Arbroath smokie pate.

I'm going to make it as a terrine.

Very classical. You don't often see terrines nowadays. Very British,

very honest, very modest.

I'm going to sell a fair few of these.

Ed will be serving his smokie haddock pate with...

Stephanie has decided on local partridge.

I'm going to crust the partridge with some local cobnuts, then serve

it with a blackberry and herb salad and with some home-made

oatcakes and a tiny bit of potted game on there as well.

So Stephanie's dish is more elaborate than Ed's

but which one will entice the diners?

Getting a menu right in any restaurant is a massive challenge,

but cooking it in a venue this grandiose

and unfamiliar has got to be seriously intimidating.

Our chefs are in awe as they pull up

and Lucas, the restaurant's maitre d', is waiting to show them

the opulent surroundings that will be their battleground today.

Lovely, thank you.

-Wow this is very grand, isn't it?

-It's gorgeous.

The standards here are top-notch

and our chefs are left under no illusion

about what's expected of them.

Guys, that's the kitchen for tonight.

The restaurant has a very high expectation, so I want you to

uphold that service and expectation, especially during the service.

-Thank you.

-And good luck.

-Thank you.

No pressure then, chefs!

Ed and Stephanie have been assigned two valiant volunteers from the

regular kitchen staff to help them prepare their three courses,

and with service only hours away,

they need to get their teams onside and fired up.

We haven't got long. There's no time, really, for idle banter.

Tonight, hopefully, we're going to kick their butt.

-Are you up for it, guys?

-Yes, chef. Let's go.

-Excellent, excellent.

And now the race is on!

With just over five hours until the start of service,

our chefs launch themselves into their starter preparation.

Stephanie's hoping that her partridge will be a winner.

It's good stuff, that.

What we've got here are new season partridge.

We're roasting it as a crown. We're going to take the partridge

breast off last minute. That's going to put myself

and my guys under pressure because it's a la minute cooking.

By cooking to order in this way,

Stephanie's taking on a lot of extra pressure.

We're then putting a crust on the top

and we're gratinating it under the grill,

which is even more pressure, so it's not an easy dish,

but I believe in this.

I think the cobnuts and this local partridge are sensational.

So Stephanie's going for high risk, but what of her opponent Ed?

The food I'm cooking is more... I wouldn't say more grounded.

It's more straightforward, really.

These are my Arbroath smokies,

so I've gone for something a bit more down to earth, really.

He's not been at it long, when old Ed starts to feel the strain.

I need to spend a bit more time down the gym.

You need to be fit to be a good cook.

Luckily, relief is on its way, Ed.

Lovely. Oh, thank you very much.

After you've been a chef for a number of years,

you struggle and suffer when you're a young pup in the kitchen,

but once you've made it to the top, of course, you are a god

and served tea on a regular basis.

Ah, bless - Ed thinks he's a god.

We'll see how divine his dishes are!

That looks like a lovely cup of tea. Thank you very much

and I think the young lady over there

would probably like a cup of tea.

Being from Yorkshire, she doesn't go long without a cup of tea.

This truly is the lull before the storm

and our chefs are displaying the camaraderie of the trenches.

-Did you enjoy the tea I ordered for you?

-Very much so.

Thank you very much.

As time goes on and we go in to service, you and I will be feuding.

Sounds good to me.

But at the moment I think it's nice to keep it calm and friendly.

Very quintessentially British of you.

Well, we're not fooled by all this mutual back-patting.

Once this competition kicks off,

these poor innocents aren't going to know what's hit them!

The chef who makes the most profit will win this competition, so

earlier on in the day, Stephanie and Ed went shopping for their starter

ingredients, focussed on buying the minimum they'd need to cover

the evening's service, but keeping their costs as low as possible.

I'm here at the butcher's.

I want some local partridge, which is a quality product which

demands a lot of money, but I'm looking for a really good price,

because I want to nail this starter.

I can see it all hanging behind you there.

It's the start of the game season.

-What have you got?

-Some fresh local partridge from the Hambleden Estate.

That sounds exciting,

that sounds like the sort of thing I'd like to cook.

That's all very well, Stephanie but you need to get a good price

and partridge doesn't come cheap.

Ed went in search of his smokies.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

Got some beautiful stuff here, these fellas.

The Arbroath smokies, fresh in today.

We've come up at £74.

Well, I need to get a really good price on these.

This is the starter. I can't pay too much money on this.

What are we in for, mate?

If I start off by knocking £5 off a kilo,

-from 17.50 down to 12.50.

-Right.

That's a generous reduction, but Ed wants more.

So from 74 down to 53. I can do them for 50.

-45.

-45, I'm happy with 45.

You're all right with 45?

I'm absolutely chuffed, that's brilliant.

-No worries.

-Chuffed as a smokie.

So Ed's struck gold!

He's managed to get the main ingredient

for his starter for just £45.

That's almost £30 off the original asking price!

Will rival Stephanie be as plucky with her partridge?

They're going to be around £3 each.

Any chance of doing a little bit of something on £3.

If I took 20, what kind of deal could we do there?

-£50.

-£50 for 20 partridge. Yep.

That's a really good price.

Respect. Nice one, sir.

Happy, very happy with that deal.

So how will the money our chefs have spent on ingredients

impact on the prices they give their starters?

With the other ingredients included,

Ed's spent a total of £66.57

and has put his starter on the menu at £11.50.

Stephanie's total spend on her starter ingredients was

a pricey £79,

but she has put her starter on the menu for £14.50,

£3 more than Ed's,

so both chefs could make some cracking profits.

Back in the restaurant kitchen, the start of service is looming

ever closer, but for now our chefs are still the best of chums.

I've achieved nothing,

but as you know with cooking, it's funny how suddenly...

Achieved nothing? You seem to have a lot going on.

Well, nothing actually making me feel

an element of confidence that this is going to come together in time.

Get cracking, then!

Ed blends his smoked fish with creme fraiche, gherkins, capers

and wholegrain mustard, before adding butter,

parsley and lemon juice.

And his rival is watching his every move.

Ed said he'd done nothing.

It doesn't look like he's done nothing to me.

I'm not going to let him pull the wool over my eyes.

I'm just going to keep strong and keep pressing on.

It seems now our chefs are finally starting to feel the pressure.

Time is slipping away from me and, to be honest, I've really

sort of achieved nothing at the moment.

So far I've made Arbroath smokie pate

that's yet to go in the terrine moulds.

The whole thing is bordering on catastrophe tonight,

I've got to be honest.

There's no wake-up call quite like running out of time, is there, Ed?

Across the kitchen, Stephanie looks in control

and on top of her game, literally.

We're making a potted game.

This is the leg from the partridge,

stewed down with some of the game.

Bit of venison in there, bit of rabbit.

But instead of putting it in a pot,

we're going to make, like, a sausage

and then tie the ends off

so it can't go anywhere

and get it in the blast chiller.

The clock strikes six

and service is just one hour away.

Already hungry diners are arriving

and taking their seats in the opulent dining room.

In the kitchen, our chefs are racing through

the final stages of their preparation,

while in the restaurant, there's a buzz of excitement and expectation.

I'm hoping that tonight's going to be quite eventful.

Looking at the menu, it does look like the food's going to be great.

It looks very, very interesting, quite intricate.

As the diners study their menus,

they have no idea which chef is cooking which dish.

Which starter will they go for?

Ed's Arbroath smoked pate

or Stephanie's partridge with cobnut crust?

Before we find out, our chefs get the chance to suss out

their rival's opening salvo in today's culinary clash.

Stephanie's partridge is up first.

So often game is looked upon as a masculine type dish.

What you've achieved here I think is so lovely,

cos it's got a real effeminate, gentle feel.

The flavours are lovely,

nothing's overpowering, it all weaves together.

-Shall we try yours?

-Come on, then.

What I'm hoping I've achieved is to retain

the flavour of an Arbroath smokie, without all

the shenanigans of hacking your way through it. So a simple pate.

It's simple, but it's lovely.

Nice, clean flavours.

-You serve me this, chef, I'd be quite happy.

-You'd be happy.

Well, they're both impressed, which isn't going to ease the nerves.

Overseeing tonight's proceedings and making sure the chefs don't

short-serve the diners is Chris, the restaurant's usual head chef.

The hour of reckoning is upon us and, ready or not, it's time

for our chefs to go to war.

Are you ready to order your starter, please?

Can I have partridge, please?

I like game and I'm not too keen on smoked food,

so it's the partridge for me.

-Pate for me, please.

-Very good.

And I'm going to choose the pate because it's got the word

beetroot in it, my favourite food.

As the orders come through to the kitchen,

both our chefs are on tenterhooks.

First check on, guys.

We want to do proud tonight.

So it's four pate, six partridge.

-Yes!

-Yes, chef!

Six partridge, yes!

Oh, Stephanie's off to a strong start,

but there are plenty of diners still to order.

Madam.

I would really like to try the smoked pate, please.

This battle is all about profit and as Stephanie spent more on her

ingredients, she's got to sell more dishes to win the round.

Can I have the Arbroath smoked pate, please?

Could I have the partridge, please?

So far our chefs are evenly matched.

Three pate, three partridge.

There we go there. I'll finish the bread and we're off.

Ed is lining up his plates and banging them out

but as predicted, Stephanie's "of the minute"

preparation is piling on the pressure.

So this is my a la minute bit.

This is where, if I burn it, we're in trouble.

Check on, two partridge, two pate.

Happy days.

Our chefs are slugging it out blow for blow,

but then Ed lands a punch.

Four pate, two partridge.

Oh, I don't like that check.

That's no good.

Even Stevens now.

All right then, chef, all right.

And then Ed strikes again.

-Four covers, four pate.

-Ooh!

It looks like Ed is taking the lead

and Stephanie isn't happy.

Oh, I think I've had it.

Check on, large table.

Ten covers, six pate, four partridge.

Another strike for Ed.

Five covers, five pate.

-Aargh, no!

-And then another!

And then the final insult.

Last order of the night, two covers, two pate.

I've never been so disheartened to hear the word pate in my life.

Before we find out who sold the most dishes,

what did the diners think of their starters?

I had the pate as the starter.

It was very nice. It was very mild, but quite creamy.

I had the partridge. It was amazing.

It was so delicious, I can't even begin to explain.

A glowing reception for our chefs' creations

but the question that really matters is how many servings have

each of them sold in this first round?

Three, two, one.

-Yeah.

-Well.

I think that's what you call a whitewash.

Not bad, chef.

But that gives me a way to go, doesn't it?

You've got a battle now.

-You ready?

-Yeah, I am.

-It's going to get hot now, isn't it?

-Well, hot and bothered, hey?

Ed and Stephanie know how many starters they've sold,

but what they don't know is how much profit they've made.

Ed spent less than his rival and

charged less for his pate starter.

His 35 sales have earned him a total

of £402.50 and when he takes

off what he spent on ingredients,

he's left with a profit of £335.93.

Stephanie spent more on ingredients

but priced her starter higher than Ed's.

Her 24 sales have netted a total of £348.

When she takes away her costs, she is left with

a smaller profit of £269.

So Ed is currently in the lead, but it's the main course

round that's the big one, so there's still everything to play for.

This is the round where both chefs have the chance to make their

biggest profits, so what delights do they have up their sleeves?

For my main course today I'm going to serve Duck a L'Orange.

That goes together perfectly. It fits with my strategy

and of course it's going to jump out of the menu.

Ed will be serving his duck with...

So Ed's going for a classic dish,

but what's his rival Stephanie going for?

My main course, I'm going for halibut.

Halibut to me is one of the kings of the sea, it really is,

and I think halibut is really going to impress those diners.

Stephanie is serving her halibut with crab and lime croquette,

carrots, vermouth sauce

and spinach princess,

which is spinach cooked with mushrooms and butter.

Which of these tasty dishes will the diners go for in tonight's service?

Time will tell, but first our chefs need to get them ready, and fast.

Ed talks one of his sous chefs through

how he wants his duck breasts prepared.

You're going to pan fry them fat side down.

You'll start on a moderate heat

to render the fat off the duck breast.

I don't want to add too much oil to the duck, just to retain the flavour.

So you just want to go nice and close, scoring it, keeping

only a centimetre between each slice

and really allow the fat to escape

and then we're going to get a lovely crispy skin all the way through.

-All right, chef?

-Thank you.

On the other side of the kitchen,

Stephanie's in high spirits.

Look, Wayne, we're on a roll!

She's got her team onto making the crab

and lime croquettes that will go with her halibut.

After mixing fresh crab meat with lime zest

and mashed potato, they're made into barrel shapes, dipped in flour,

egg and breadcrumbs and then they're ready for deep-frying.

The winner of this competition will be the chef

who makes the most profit,

so earlier in the day, when they went shopping, Stephanie and Ed knew

they had to keep their spending on ingredients to an absolute minimum.

By making a pricey fish like halibut the star of her main dish,

Stephanie knew that she was taking a big tactical risk

and that failing to get a good deal could cost her the competition.

I want the quality that that fish is going to give me.

With halibut, you've got to be winning.

-Get it on the scale and weigh it up for you.

-Yeah.

And how much would that be?

£124.

I'm thinking maybe a little bit less.

Less fish?

Yeah, 16 out of that.

I really need it all.

It's a lot of money that, oh!

Oh, the dilemma!

Stephanie needs to make the right decision here.

She can't risk not buying enough, but she has to hold on

to every penny she can.

Ed's in search of duck breasts for his retro classic main course

and decent duck isn't cheap either.

I want a big buy up today, so I know you're going

to do me some deals, aren't you?

We're going to start at about £4 per breast.

That's eight quid a packet.

I mean, I'd ideally want to get a packet of duck for a fiver.

-Do you now?

-Yeah.

-That's a very good price, isn't it?

-It is a good price.

-So you want to pay a fiver and I want to charge you £8.

-Yes.

-So £6?

-5.50?

-5.50 and we've got a deal.

Lovely, that's good.

Oh, Ed's bagged a cracking reduction there!

Will Stephanie be able to get a result like that?

Well, you say it should be 124 quid.

-Yes.

-How about 90 quid?

-If we go 100...

-Go on!

-If we go 100 then we can...

How about 95?

-Yeah, I'm happy with that.

-95 quid.

-95 quid. Fishy hands.

Yeah, I don't mind.

95 quid, I'm happy.

She's smiling!

Stephanie's got a great deal on her halibut

but in trying to reduce her costs, she's only bought

enough for half the number of diners expected in the restaurant tonight,

so she's taking one almighty risk.

I've portioned up my halibut.

There's only 30 pieces here.

That's a risky thing, only cooking for half the customers, but it's

so expensive, I don't want to waste one single piece of this fish.

So Stephanie's playing high stakes,

while Ed is playing it safe, but how will the amounts they've spent

impact on the menu prices our chefs give their main courses?

Well, Ed's spent a total of £146.96

on his main course ingredients

and has put his duck on the menu at a costly £21.50.

Stephanie's total spend on her main course ended up being less than

Ed's at £132.42,

but she's priced her dish

at a rather steep £25.

With only enough portions to feed half the diners,

she hasn't got much choice other than to price high.

Back in the restaurant kitchen, Ed's keen tactical mind has already

worked out that he could be in a win-win situation.

Steph's got 30 portions of fish there.

Whatever happens, I'm getting 50% of the sales so, you know, great.

If you order halibut and she's run out, you're getting duck.

Ed's racing through all possible scenarios,

but Stephanie doesn't seem too phased

and is doing a test run of her dish.

Get a few bits of dill on there, here and there.

I think this halibut dish, it is a risk taker

but I feel good about it,

I want to make lots of profit on it and I think it's a winner.

We'll see, Stephanie.

Ed thinks that old retro classic Duck a L'Orange

will be a winner for him.

Just making his sauce has made him come over all creative.

This is no ordinary duck sauce,

this is a duck sauce with Seville oranges.

Time to get serious, Ed, this is a competition!

OK, with an a l'orange sauce, the first thing you must do,

if you've got zest of orange is blanch it in boiling water,

take out the bitterness. Lots of bitterness in the orange zest.

Then it's gone back into the orange juice.

We've got no bits in there, so it's smooth.

Bring it up to the boil, and I've got some hot chicken stock.

I'm going to add the chicken stock to the orange sauce.

Ed sweetens the sauce with honey,

adds thyme and reduces it until syrupy.

Service is drawing closer and we'll soon find out whether it will be

Ed's classic duck or Stephanie's pricey fish that wins the day.

But first, what do our chefs make of each other's weapons of war?

Ed's up first.

I love the sweetness of the duck.

-The carrots are a bit sweet on sweet for me.

-Right.

I think the mash is a little bit gloopy.

That's more like it.

Steph's not holding back. What will Ed hit back with?

-It's a beautiful piece of fish.

-Yeah, it is.

Beautifully cooked. I love the presentation.

I love the spinach, I love the mushrooms,

the carrots are perfect and then I get lost.

-And the vermouth sauce, what do you think about that?

-I don't like it.

-No?

-No.

-Fair enough.

The sauce I think is very... again, a little bit sweet for me.

-Yeah?

-And it masks...

-Which is interesting,

cos you've got a lot of sweet here.

I say! The knives could be out for this round!

The diners tonight don't have a clue which chef has cooked which dish

and as ordering begins, both options are proving popular.

-Can I have the halibut?

-Halibut, yes ma'am.

-The Duck a L'Orange, please.

-Thank you very much, ma'am.

In the kitchen, both chefs

are listening out for that crucial first order.

Six halibut, four duck.

SHE MOUTHS

Six halibut makes me happy. Hey, Ed?

Yeah, yeah.

Don't believe you, Ed. But this round is only just beginning.

Next check - nine covers, seven halibut, two duck.

Rock and roll.

Oh, she's happy!

And the orders are still coming in.

I'll go for the Duck a L'Orange.

It's an all-time favourite.

I'm going to go for the halibut,

mainly because I'm not a massive fan of duck, actually.

Next check - four covers, three halibut, one duck.

Chef!

Stephanie's off to a flying start and Ed's feeling the pressure.

Steph's got the run on me at the moment, I'm trailing

quite significantly, actually, so I need a big order.

I need a big order to come my way.

I really need that.

-Four covers. Three halibut, one duck.

-Yes, chef!

Oh, it's not looking good for Ed

and there's more orders for halibut to come!

The fillet of halibut, please.

Can I have the halibut, please?

But it's not just Ed who's concerned by the halibut's popularity.

Stephanie only has 30 portions of halibut, so if her orders

continue at this rate, she'll be in serious danger of selling out!

Is it possible to have a count on how many halibut we've sold?

I'm sure it's not 30 yet, but...

-New check - five covers, four halibut, one duck.

-Yay!

Oh, look at Ed's face. That's got to hurt.

It's all over.

I've got absolutely trounced on this.

I've got more duck than I know what to do with.

We haven't sold many at all. I've sold about 11 or 12 portions

and the halibut is flying, absolutely flying.

Oh, Ed. Could this be the end?

Well, hold on, because there could be a ray of hope.

You have 18 more halibut on order.

Chef, I've got a problem.

Two, three, four, five, six, seven.

Seven...

eight, nine, ten, 11, 12...

13, chef. Unlucky for some. 13.

Five extras.

Bail me out, Ed, bail me out, chef.

Oh, what a disaster for Stephanie!

She's got 18 outstanding orders for halibut

but only 13 portions left.

So five diners will either have to have Ed's duck, or go without.

One lady's fall is another's gain.

Oh, the Ed Baines victory dance!

What a turn up. Not buying enough fish has lost Stephanie

the profits from five diners

and handed them straight to her opponent!

Now Stephanie has to break the news

to the restaurant's maitre d', Lucas.

I've got a problem.

I need 18 halibut and I've got 13.

-I've sold out.

-Yeah, but how is that possible?

More people had halibut. I'm really sorry.

OK, I'll speak with the guests and we're going to speak after service.

-OK.

-Thank you, let's crack on.

Ooh, it's like being up in front of the headmaster!

Up until about one minute ago, I was actually feeling really good.

I thought "Wow, we're selling a lot of this, this is great."

Now I've managed to upset the restaurant manager, which is never good.

And it's not just Lucas you need to worry about, Stephanie,

it's the diners who will now be offered Ed's duck.

I'm sorry I'm disturbing. We ran out of halibut.

Can I offer you the duck instead?

I'm really sorry I'm disturbing. We just ran out of the halibut.

Can I offer you duck instead?

-I'll take the duck.

-Thank you.

That is going to be music to Ed's ears!

Was originally two duck, four halibut

but now it's got to be six duck, I'm afraid.

Don't be afraid, be delighted. I am.

As Ed finally gets the orders he's been after,

what did the diners think of their main courses?

Unfortunately, the maitre d' came round

and said that they'd run out of halibut

and they offered me the duck instead,

which I'm a bit disappointed.

I had the duck for my main course and I found it was really delicious.

I was expecting perhaps a little bit overpowering, a bit '70s

Duck a L'Orange, but it was actually

really quite delicate and very tasty.

The halibut was absolutely cooked perfectly

and the vermouth sauce was just to die for.

Once again the, diners are impressed

but the big question is how many dishes did our chefs each sell?

Stephanie was way out in front

but did her error allow Ed to claw it back?

We kind of know what it's going to say under here.

I actually have learnt a valuable lesson from this

and that lesson that I've learnt

is that sometimes you've got to have faith in your dish

and I just wish I'd bought 40 portions.

What I've learnt today is

not all of the classical dishes

-are as popular as I thought they might be.

-Yeah.

Shall we just have a look to see if we're right?

-Ooh.

-One more.

-One more.

Can I tell you something now?

I'm going to really come out fighting.

Yeah, for the dessert?

I am. I'm going to give it everything I've got.

So even though she ran out of fish, Stephanie still managed to

sell one more dish than Ed.

She also charged more and had lower costs, so let's find out

who's made the most profit.

Ed gained five orders from Stephanie.

His 29 duck dishes have netted him £623.50,

and after deducting his costs

he's made a respectable profit

of £476.54.

Losing out on five orders cost Stephanie £125,

but the 30 halibut dishes that she did sell

have made her a healthy £750.

After costs, she's left with a tidy profit

of £617.58.

And so the final battle begins - dessert.

Stephanie is ahead profit wise, so the pressure is on Ed

to deliver a dessert that will whip the diners into a frenzy.

For my dessert, I'm not going to be making a rum baba,

in fact I'm going to be making a plum baba,

so I'm going to use lovely Victoria plums and make

a wonderful traditional rum baba with plums in it.

Once again Ed's going for a retro dish.

A baba is a cross between bread and cake

and was popular in the 1970s.

Ed will be serving it with creme fraiche ice cream

and a syrup made from Frangelico,

which is a hazelnut liqueur.

What's Stephanie got up her sleeve?

On a cold day like this, there's nothing better than

sitting down to some comforting, fantastic autumn fruit rice pudding.

Stephanie is serving her rice pudding with a fig coulis.

As Ed and Stephanie get stuck into preparing their desserts,

they both know that this is their last chance to turn things around.

Ed and his team are preparing his baba mix.

So far, flour, sugar and salt have gone into the bowl.

Yeast is going in. There it is, in it goes.

And then we make a combination of eggs and milk

and we add three-quarters.

When it starts to form together as a dough,

we add that last third of egg

and milk and then we add the butter.

You knead it for another six minutes and then we're going to leave

it somewhere, covered with clingfilm, in a big bowl

cos it doubles in volume.

And for her rice pudding, Stephanie's cooking

the rice in milk and cream with a vanilla pod added for extra flavour.

Once the rice is cooked, condensed milk is added.

So my rice pudding is now soft.

That's actually cooked now.

I'm going to chill this down and then I'm going to reheat it

for service with a nice bit of cream and make it really rich and lovely.

Now, for dessert, the rules are a little different

because our chefs will have to go out into the restaurant to

pitch their dishes to the diners face to face.

And the customers will only have to pay whatever

they think the dessert they choose is actually worth.

So when Stephanie and Ed went shopping earlier, they knew they

had to buy their pudding ingredients for as little as possible.

OK, I need to find some plums, good old... Ah, yes, look at these.

They're beautiful. I'm going to be a bit naughty and try one.

You'll have to pay for that one, Ed!

-Hello.

-Hello.

-How are you? I'm Ed.

-Hello.

-I'm Belinda.

-Hello, Belinda. That's a lovely name.

Oh, here he goes! Mr Charmer!

But will he get a good deal on his plums?

Now, how much are all these plums?

They are 4.20 a kilo, which is 1.90 a pound.

Two kilos here. Two kilos.

4.20, 8.40.

I'm going to be really cheeky. Can you let the whole lot go for a fiver?

No, not £5.

I could go down to 3.30 a kilo,

which is now making it 7.24.

Can we round it off and just...?

Round it off to a nice number, 6.50?

-Seven.

-Seven.

-£7.

-You're done.

-OK.

-Lovely. Thank you.

Cheeky boy! Ed's done a great deal there.

Stephanie's hunting for local

apples and pears to go with her rice pudding.

These are 1.85 per kilo

so how about if we come in at something like about 1.65.

A little bit lower. Go on, give us 1.60. You know you want to.

I can do 1.60 for you, yeah.

That's 4.80 but you've got a lovely smile so how about £4 for cash?

-Sounds good to me. You're done.

-Thank you very much.

So Ed's not the only charmer in town.

Stephanie's got a great deal on her fruit.

With all the other ingredients included, Stephanie's spent

just £15.26 on her dessert,

whilst Ed's total expenditure was over £10 more at £26.53.

But which of them will make the most profit?

Back in the restaurant kitchen, Stephanie is the picture of focus.

The rice pudding is the dish that I'm most worried about.

It needs a bit of sexing up, really.

So what I'm going to do is puree this, pass it through a sieve

and then I end up with a very fine, smooth fig coulis which is

going to look great drizzled along the top of that rice pudding.

We'll see whether Stephanie's fig coulis will be the winning

touch to sway the diners.

Ed's serving creme fraiche ice cream with his plum babas.

How's it turned out, Ed?

-Lovely!

-Two containers, chef.

It's very nice.

He's like a schoolboy who's just been given an ice cream.

Steph's poaching her pears in turmeric, vanilla, cloves and water.

Look at that. Perfect, it's getting there, not ready yet

but it's getting there and I think they're going to make me

a good profit because I got those pears quite cheap.

For a selection of recipes from the series, log on to...

Before the final round kicks off,

our chefs take the chance to suss out each other's final salvos.

You really get the hazelnut from that Frangelico. Really nice.

And the ice cream's a nice touch.

So Stephanie's a fan of Ed's work but will the love flow both ways?

It's no ordinary rice pudding, is it, this one?

-It's got grown-up flavours.

-Yeah.

The underlining taste there is fond childhood memories.

I think the fruit's really nice. It's got a warming compote sort of feel.

Interesting!

It's a thumbs up from both sides.

But which dessert will decide the day?

Up till now, the diners have had no idea which chef has cooked

which dish but now that's all about to change because the next challenge

for Stephanie and Ed is to meet the diners and pitch their desserts.

Tonight, I've done a vanilla rice pudding.

We're not talking school dinners here, we're talking a very light

rice pudding made with Madagascan vanilla pods

and served on the top with local fruit.

I've kept things quite simple, probably a bit like me.

I've made a little thing called a plum baba

so any of you that have had a rum baba,

and any of you enjoy a rum baba, it's a similar thing.

Really, it's like a rum baba. A couple of key differences.

It's served with ice cream,

which is made with creme fraiche so it's very light and it's got

Frangelico in which is a sort of very autumnal liquor made with hazelnuts.

Having introduced their desserts, our chefs have precious moments

to persuade the diners that theirs is the one to go for.

While Ed is using all the charm he can muster...

-Here we are, right.

-Shall we get cosy?

-Let me...

I'll do a private delivery.

..Stephanie is going for the authentic approach.

I'm a farmer's daughter and this is a local farmer's apples

and pears and plums and blackberries so that's good enough for me.

Thank you.

Well, they've given it their all

but which dessert will the diners go for?

I've decided to have the rice pudding.

I liked the description of the rice pudding on the menu

but also liked the pitch that Steph gave.

I decided to order the plum baba for my pudding.

It appealed to me initially

because it was something I can remember from when I was much younger.

I was going to order the rum baba but Steph seemed

so passionate about her pitch that it kind of won me over.

So it looks like it's going to be

another close call in the final round.

Which dessert will get off to that crucial good start?

Check on. Five plum, three rice pudding, extra crispy topping.

Oh, it's Ed who breaks away first!

Check on. Four covers. Three plum, one rice pudding.

Ed knows he's got a lot of catching up to do...

I need to sell a lot of rum babas. As simple as that.

..so he needs these orders to be going his way.

Check on. Five covers. One plum, four rice pudding.

Oh, that's a blow for Ed.

Check on. Six covers. Six plum.

-Oh!

-Now you're talking.

-Now you're talking.

Now you're talking, back at you!

Back at you with a cherry on the top.

Oh, Ed's delighted and it's got Stephanie unnerved.

After main course, I actually think I was in the lead. Now I'm not

so sure because there's a lot of rum babas going out there.

Could Stephanie be right?

Four rice pudding, six plum.

That's good, that's good.

Oh, that's another hefty order for Ed.

Check on. Ten covers. Seven plum, three rice pudding.

Yes, chef.

Like plum central over there.

Will the surge in Ed's plum babas be enough to win him the round?

Remember, this won't be decided on how many dishes our chefs have

sold but on how much the diners are willing to pay for them.

I had the rice pudding. Very nice with the local fruit.

I think I paid £6. Well worth it.

I ordered the plum baba.

I really like the hazelnut syrup. It really made it moist.

I think I'd pay about £8 for that.

I chose the plum baba.

I had two bites and it didn't say, "Come back for a third time."

I paid the minimum £2.

I ordered the rice pudding. I'm paying £4 for it

because the rice wasn't creamy enough.

Oh, they're a tough crowd!

We'll find out shortly how much profit our chefs have made.

But first, let's see how many desserts they've each sold.

Stephanie managed to sell a total of 20 rice puddings.

It's a good effort but it's not good enough

as Ed sold an impressive 39 plum babas!

Remember, the diners have only paid what

they think their dessert is worth so today's winner could be

entirely decided by the money they hand over now.

It's been a tough old day for Ed and Stephanie, cooking

against the clock in an unfamiliar kitchen but now their hard work

is done and it's time to reveal the outcome of today's competition.

-Shall we just get this out the way?

-Yeah.

The more we pontificate, the worse it's going to be.

I just want to know what's underneath there, definitely.

OK, three, two, one.

Oh!

Oh, that's very close. Very.

£12, what, £12.62p? Good God.

I've really, really enjoyed working with you today and...

Yes, likewise.

..to be honest, it's... You know, you made me raise my game.

I was watching you for that first hour and I thought,

"Bainesey, pick up now. Come on."

-Well, thank you for that.

-So, there we go.

I know exactly where I went wrong there, I really do.

And it was not having enough fish.

Well, what a turn up. It was close but victory goes to Ed.

Oh, that was a tough old day.

It was really even. It was really tight. I'd say that was

a photo finish. You can't really get tighter than 12 quid.

Both our chefs have made a great amount of money

and all of their profits will be going to their chosen charities.

My charity today is the Marie Curie Cancer Care.

My charity today is the Upper Wharfedale Mountain Rescue.

Well, Ed may have won today's contest

but both our chefs have shown that they've got what it takes

to put their put their menus where their mouths are.

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